Wildcard (7 page)

“Look at me… I can put a bullet in a man farther away than most guns can see, and here I am incapable of dealing with being forgotten. Some soldier I am.”

Jasmine bit her lip. For three months she’d thought he’d just cut and run after getting what he wanted, leaving her without a thought, even to the consequences of what they’d done. She absently rubbed the slight curve of her rounded belly and thought she felt the baby move, even though they told her it was too early yet. Almost as though the little thing recognized its daddy.

“You were deployed?” No one could grow up around an army base without knowing some of the terms. Then her face hardened. “But no platoons shipped out that weekend. At all. And I’d have known. Place like this, the town would have been abuzz with it.”

“That’s because I was tasked out on a quick mission. They needed a marksman slot filled, and I was the only one close enough to remobilization date. Short end of the straw I guess. I didn’t want it to work out that way. It just…happened. I didn’t really have a choice. They had me on a plane out of the country by the time you were waking up.”

Jasmine nodded as some of her hurt eased. She’d thought he’d walked out and had been avoiding her since. Hearing that he had been out of the country made things easier, a little anyway.

She looked him over, not even bothering to conceal her assessing look under the sweep of her lashes. Just into her second trimester, the morning sickness had eased a little, but she was exhausted. Even now if she closed her eyes for a moment she knew she could drop off into sleep. Even standing up.

He was thinner than he had been, like he needed a good meal, and his expression was weary. She ached to wrap her arms around him and reassure him it was going to be OK. But would he welcome that? Sure he’d said he’d planned to look her up, see where this thing between them would go.

That was before he’d returned to find her pregnant, and tellingly, he hadn’t asked whose the baby was. There was no way she was volunteering that information. She could cope with being a single mom just fine, thank you, had already made the arrangements at work. But there was no way she could cope with him sticking around out of pity or duty.

“So… What’s the deal with Mr. White Collar? Planning to get rid of him soon?” Mike asked, knifing into silence that lingered between them. “If’n ya are, I know some of my Battles would love to have a good combat lesson with him.”

He tossed her a playful grin as he wedged his way between her and the open car door to set the bag of groceries down gently. Standing upright again, he leaned against the car in the way of the door. “Guess we’ll have to figure something out if I’m gonna be hanging around more often.”

Her breath caught on that one, but she clamped down on the hope that tried to blossom. She didn’t know many men, especially young hot ones like Mikey, who would stick about with a baby on the horizon. Best she not take anything he said at face value and try to protect her heart.

She waved dismissively. “He’s already gone. That was my ex-husband. The one who preferred his young, blonde secretary to his boring, plain old wife.” She couldn’t help but grind out the last sentence, casting an annoyed look in the direction Julian’s car had disappeared, then looked back at the handsome soldier between her and her car. Another wave of exhaustion hit, making her waver on her feet.

“Here.” She held out her car keys. “If you’re sticking around, you might as well be useful.”

He blinked, surprise on his face when she dropped the keys in his hands. “I, uh…OK?”

He got out of the way to let her sit down and cast a look toward his beat up truck. Making his way around and sliding into the driver’s seat, he looked at her curiously.

“So, where to?” He shoved the keys into the ignition and turned the engine over.

She gave him quick directions, and rested her head back against the seat. The directions were good, crisp, and clear. Within minutes, Mike pulled the sedan to a stop outside a neat little family home in a good area of town. Mentally he whistled. Plenty of money in this area. He turned to her, a compliment on the house hanging on his tongue, only to realize she was asleep.

He nudged her softly to wake her up. “Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty, we’re here.”

He glanced toward her home. Getting out and grabbing up the groceries while she was still getting herself sorted, he waited a moment with the bag in his hand. He glanced toward her swollen abdomen.

“So…just asking because I’ve been off the face of the earth the last few months but… Who’s the father?”

A part of him, a large part of him, wanted it to be his. But the rounding of her belly looked too big. How long had he been gone? He paused as another thought occurred to him. Had she already been pregnant when they’d spent the night together?

“It doesn’t matter.” She shrugged and walked past him up the drive. Like a small puppy, he followed her, the bag still in his hands as she opened the door and motioned him inside. He could only do as he was told, looking at her as though she’d grown two heads. He gritted his teeth as anger rose, hot and immediate.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter? Of course it does. To me at least. I mean…wouldn’t you want to know who your parents were? Or your kids if the role was reversed?” He set the bag down on the nearest counter and folded his arms. “It’s not like I’m asking you to amputate a limb or something. I just…I just want to know. Wouldn’t you?”

She started to unload the bag, her lips compressed into a thin line. “Of course I would. But is it really something you want to know?”

Opening the fridge door, she put a carton of orange juice away with a vengeance it hadn’t earned. Her movements were swift and efficient. He reached out to help, only to have his hands slapped away.

“Does one night entitle you to any sort of answer when you just walked out without a w-word?”

Since she was turned away from him, Mike couldn’t see her face, but on the last word, her voice cracked. His gaze zeroed in on the slight shake of her shoulders. She was crying.

Aw, hell.

Stepping up behind her, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. With his free hand, he used a piece of kitchen towel swiped from the nearby holder to mop her tears. He didn’t say anything, just let her sob for a bit. It wasn’t fair to her; he understood that. But he also had a right to know if there was a chance the baby was his.

“I’d like to know, yes. Not that it would matter…you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid. But, it would be nice. Take it from a guy who was adopted. It kind of nags at you sometimes.”

He loosened his grasp and turned her so she could face him. Her dark eyes were red, as was the tip of her nose. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“I’ve never really had a reasonably normal and stable relationship before so you’ll have to bear with me. Downside to my job, I guess.” He kept his voice low and melodic, as he would with a frightened animal, to avoid scaring her.

She searched his eyes as though looking for something. Perhaps looking for something in him she could hang her trust on. Finally she sighed, closing her eyes wearily and resting her forehead against his shoulder. He just held her, luxuriating in the feel of her in his arms again.

“You are.”

Relief flooded through him, a feeling so strong it took his breath away. Silently thanking God, he pulled her closer. She hadn’t been pregnant when she’d come to him, nor had she found someone after. The magic words, but it was like pulling teeth to get her to say it. When she finally did, he felt warm inside. Was this how it was supposed to feel? To hell if it was or wasn’t, it felt right all the same. He smiled as he wove his fingers in and out of her hair.

He’d catch flak from the boys over this. He remembered all the fun chiding all the “cherries” for going out and getting married to a girl who wouldn’t last. This though, this would. He was going to make sure of it.

“Oh yes. You’re stuck with me for good now.”

* * *

Four hours. That was all it took for his life to completely turn around. Michael leaned in the doorframe and watched as Jasmine slept on the sofa. In all honesty, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her since he’d run into her at the store. She amazed him. Far from the diner waitress or store assistant he’d expected her to be given her group of friends that night, turned out his little Jasmine not only had beauty but brains as well. She was a lawyer, no less. No wonder she’d been so comfortable throwing words like “injunction” at Julian.

He pulled out his cell phone and sent Parra a text message to see if he could go get his truck from the grocery and drop it off at his apartment. Within a minute he got a reply, so he replied with a “thanx, owe u a beer.”

Just about to tiptoe his way over to Jasmine, he heard the distinct sound of tires on a driveway, then the idle-down of a car engine. Instinctively, his gaze flicked toward the living room door, like a German Shepherd watching the house. On silent feet, he padded across the polished wood floor until he got a good view of who was here. Julian was just climbing out of the fancy car he’d screamed off in earlier.

Great, this guy again. Just what he needed.

A glance back at Jasmine assured him that she was still fast asleep. Good. Mike headed for the door; time to sort this jerk out once and for all.

He opened the door and stepped outside, shutting it softly behind. Once he felt the doorknob grab its notch in the door frame, he took two steps forward, a scowl on his face. Stabbing an index finger back toward the road, he spoke with a sense of authority gleaned from his time in the army.

“Put your ass back in your car and get the hell out of here. Now.”

In the back of his mind, the two voices started to bicker with each other about his treatment of the other guy, but he overrode both. He was giving Jasmine a hard time, and that ended the morality debate for him.

Julian paused when he saw Michael on the steps. Thunder filled his expression. “What the fuck? Who the hell do you think you are, kid? Now fuck off before I call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing and harassment of my wife.”

“One.”

Mike started a count. Julian just looked at him as though he’d taken leave of his senses. Shutting the door of the car, he took a step closer up the driveway. Most people would have expected Julian to have backed down by now. But Mike wasn’t most people. What he really wanted was for Julian to disregard his warning and continue marching his happy ass right up to the door, where Mike would promptly introduce his face to the driveway.

“Oh that’s cute. They teach you to count in preschool?”

“Two.”

A few more steps. Just a few more steps. Mike clenched his fists, his heart rate accelerating as his body braced itself for action. Still Julian made no show of backing down.

“Get the hell off my wife’s porch, you fucking hick.”

“Three.” And that was that. As soon as he finished saying the number, he launched forward.

Within seconds, Mike had bounced him off the porch steps, the driveway, and onto the hood of his car.

“Not…your…wife,” he ground out. He reached down and grabbed an angry fistful of shirt collar, and dragged Julian back to his expensive-looking Mercedes Benz, yanked open the door, and threw the beaten heap of Julian back into his car. Then he slammed the door shut.

“Now listen up and listen good. You’re going to pull out of this driveway, and you’re going to leave her alone. Do you understand? Nod your fucking head yes!”

Julian did as instructed.

“Good. Now, you’re not ever going to bother her again. Because if I catch wind that you’ve been harassing my fiancé? I’ll break each and every one of the two hundred and six bones in your body. Are we clear?”

Julian nodded, his face pale as he clambered into the driver’s seat and jammed the car into drive.

Satisfaction filled Mike as he watched the other guy hightail it out of Dodge for the second time today. He turned toward the house and stopped dead when he saw Jasmine.

“You know,” she said. “It’s traditional to ask the woman before you start on the wedding plans.”

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Oh right, ’cause we’ve been doing this traditional the whole time?”

He made his way back up the driveway toward the porch and wrapped his arms around her waist. It may not have been done by the book, but this was what he wanted. He’d known that since he’d left her that night months ago.

He thought maybe if he just disappeared, it’d make things easier. The more he tried to keep her out of his mind though, the more the thought of hanging onto her dug in and set roots. He couldn’t let her go. Just the thought of another man touching her, seeing her like this—just out of sleep and so damn sexy it was all he could do not to back her up against the wall and kiss her senseless—brought an anger out in him he’d had no clue existed.

“So… How ’bout it? Be mine?”

Be his.

Everything in Jasmine wanted to shout “yes, hell yes!” but she schooled her expression. She wanted to believe him, but she’d been disappointed so many times before. Sure, she’d given in and admitted the baby was his. That still surprised her. What kind of hold did he have over her that she gave in so easily?